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Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 349
** ** ** ** ** ** Supporting Characters: * * **Eany and Meany. Maggott's slugs. Antagonists: * *Nanny's army of cyborgs and robots. * Other Characters: * Bounty Hunters ** ** *Maryanne. *Maryanne's husband. * * . Grovel's race. * * * * Locations: * **New York State *** **** ***** ** ***Weddell Sea. ****Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf. *****Magneto's Antarctic base. Items: * Vehicles: * | Notes = *The mysterious man monitoring events in Magneto's old base is heard only once in this issue and not actually seen. The following issue reveals the man and the mastermind of this entire plot to be the new Erik the Red. Who is in turn revealed to be the original Magneto, reducing Joseph to merely a clone of the original. *Archangel, Beast, Eany, Grovel, Joseph, Maggott, Meany, Psylocke, Spat, and Trish Tilby are all effectively members of the main cast of this storyline and go on to appear in the next issue, which concludes it. *The only character who is not really a member of the core main cast is Erik the Red/Magneto. The Marvel Chronology Project, which tracks character appearances, has the following information on him: **He was behind-the-scenes since Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 346 (August, 1997), throughout the X-Men's stay in Antarctica. His previous chronological appearances were (in order) a full appearance in X-Men Vol 2 43 (August, 1995), a flashback in Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 366 (March, 1999), flashbacks in X-Men Vol 2 86 (March, 1999), and a flashback in Gambit Annual Vol 1 1999 (September, 1999). In other words, he had not been used in stories set in the present since 1995. *It is unclear why the Beast lost his blue fur when he became depowered. His actual powers are superhuman strength, speed, stamina, durability, agility, reflexes, and dexterity, and a healing factor. The fur is the result of a mutation by his own scientific experiments, not a mutant power. He ingested a Mutant Growth Hormone as seen in Amazing Adventures Vol 2 11 (March, 1972) and this radically changed his appearance. He has actually switched back and forth between his mostly human and furry forms before. He lost his original fur in X-Factor Vol 1 3 (April, 1986), and regained his blue fur in X-Factor Vol 1 31 (August, 1988), albeit with an unstable form. He was switching constantly. He was stuck in furry form in X-Factor Vol 1 33 (October, 1988). *The great darkness Psylocke senses within Maggott was never really explained. Later writers hinted that it had something to do with his slugs. Some demonic connection was possible as the slugs resemble the demon Pilgrimm of the Ru'Tai. However the resemblance was also left unexplained and the slugs never received a proper origin. *Despite Psylocke's concerns that Maggot is a villain who is going to harm the X-Men, the issue portrays their fight quite differently. She effectively attacks unprovoked and with extreme violence. He is trying to defend himself without actually hurting her. *Maggott has claimed before that his slugs can eat humans, though this is unconfirmed. In this issue Meany is enraged enough to attack Psylocke on "her" own and the implication is that "she" it trying to devour Betsy. *The issue reveals that Grovel is one of the Klyruvians, but never explains what kind of a race are they. Given Grovel's reptilian race, they are probably not Humans or closely related to them. Whether they are a terrestrial race or an extra-terrestrial (alien) race is unclear. Grovel made no more appearances following the conclusion of this storyline and the actual nature of the character remains a mystery. *The issue says that Gambit and a depowered Rogue were able to touch and fully express their love for the first time. The implication is that they had sex for the first time, though this is left up to the imagination of the readers. Subsequent issues have cast doubts if this was Rogue's loss of virginity. *It is unclear how does the Sliding Timescale affect this issue. All New York City scenes take place in the World Trade Center and its vicinity. Is the Center supposed to exist in the altered timeline or was it destroyed before the timescale even started? *There is a bit of a dropped subplot from the previous issue. In Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 348 (October, 1997), two mysterious figures were portrayed standing behind the Beast, unnoticed. This issue simply ignores the existence of these figures, who are consequently forgotten and their presence is left unexplained. *The escape of the X-Men seems a bit too easy. Joseph escaped his cell, despite being powerless and chained. He then escaped Nanny's robots and cyborgs, located where the other prisoners were held, and actually knocked down the walls of their cells. How strong is he supposed to be without his powers? Because the fit seems like implying superhuman strength. And Gambit was struggling futilely with picking up a single lock of his chain in the previous issue. In this one, Remy effortlessly frees himself, Rogue, Spat, and Grovel from all of their chains. *This is actually the first time, Nanny attempts to kill her charges instead of simply keeping them prisoner and trying to discipline them. Her combat mode and ability to transform are also new features. *While it is refreshing to see Trish Tilby rescue the lives of the X-Men, instead of the other way around, there is one inconsistency. She apparently was able to approach Nanny without being noticed, because Nanny only focuses on mutants instead of ordinary humans. What happened to all the cyborgs and robots that were standing behind Nanny? They are seen in a single panel and then forgotten. *Nanny seems dangerous but is easily taken down with a single blow with a crowbar. So much for the main villain of the last couple of issues. | Trivia = *This is technically the last issue of Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 where Scott Lobdell is credited as the main writer of the series. He was likely the uncredited co-plotter of Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 350 (December, 1997), but that issue only credits Steven T. Seagle as its writer. The Gambit storyline that Lobdell has been advancing for several issues concludes in #350, with Lobdell's clues to Gambit's past being revealed in full. Gambit is finally revealed as a former agent of Mister Sinister, ally (or member) of the Marauders, and reluctant accomplice in the Mutant Massacre. This was most likely plotted by Lobdell, not Seagle. *Scott Lobdell was a co-writer or sole writer of Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 from issue #286 (March, 1992) to issue #349 (November, 1997). His run on the title lasted for 5 years and 8 months. Counting Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 -1 (July, 1997), this translates to 64 regular issues of the title. He had the longest run of any X-Men writer of the 1990s. This tends to result in him both getting praised for many of the series' strengths in this period and blamed for its perceived flaws. *Scott Lobdell has received a mixed reputation as an X-Men writer. He is commonly perceived as being particularly strong as a writer, when it came to handling the relatively quiet moments of the X-Men and their individual characterizations. His battle scenes are considered far less memorable in comparison. His contributions to crossover storylines such as Onslaught were memorable but often poorly regarded by readers. However many of these crossover storylines were affected by editorial decisions, and it is unclear how much influence Lodbell actually had on them. *In an interview, Scott Lobdell recalled training Steven T. Seagle as his replacement and giving him writing tips about the X-Men. Lobdell left the title rather abruptly, however, due to declining relations with the editorial staff of Marvel. Seagle later recalled that the editorial staff had him, as the new writer, on a tight leash during his entire run and often asked him to completely rewrite stories to fit their own constantly changing ideas. The writing process of the series kept being chaotic for the rest of the decade. The effects this had on the quality and consistency of the book is often debated. *Besides the main storyline about Gambit and his past, Lobdell spend his last few issues on the series introducing subplots about several X-Men-related characters. These included Bishop (feeling disconnected from the X-Men and lonely, potentially romantically interested in Deathbird, stranded in space with her), Callisto (mentor and mother figure to Marrow, severely wounded and needing care from her), Deathbird (potentially romantically interested in Bishop, keeping her love interest prisoner, effectively running away from her position as viceroy of the Shi'ar Empire, plotting to run her own empire by Bishop's side), Joseph (loosing his innocence, recalling some of Magneto's memories and becoming a bit angrier at the world, potentially inheriting Magneto's grudges), Maggott (obsessed with tracking down Joseph across continents, potentially very dangerous and with darkness within him, but not a villain at heart), Marrow (bloodthirsty and cynical, daughter-like to Callisto, seeking to aid the X-Men and join them despite their ideological differences). Several of these subplots were picked up and continued by other writers, possibly in ways unintended by Lobdell. *A number of subplots introduced by Lodbell in either Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 or X-Men Vol 2 were ignored by later writers and consequently never resolved. For example, there was a subplot about Jean Grey's powers acting in mysterious ways. In X-Men Vol 2 61 (February, 1997), Jean found herself briefly in a version of Manhattan devoid of life. In X-Men Vol 2 65 (June, 1997), Jean was briefly teleported to Counter-Earth and met its version of Iron Man. How and why she kept teleporting was never explained. During Operation: Zero Tolerance Lobdell prominently used Sabra as a new ally of the X-Men. He explained in an interview that he planned for her to become one of the new members of the X-Men. With his departure the idea was ignored. Maggott, Marrow, and Cecilia Reyes joined the X-Men, Sabra did not. The effects of her pro-X-Men actions on her contacts with the Mossad were never explored. *Lobdell did not keep away from the Uncanny X-Men for long. He returned to Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 to write issues #390-393 (March–June, 2001). He replaced Chris Claremont and was in turn replaced by Joe Casey. Lobdell also co-wrote Uncanny X-Men Annual Vol 1 2000 (February, 2001). *This is the first issue of Uncanny X-Men Vol 1 where the art is credited to Chris Bachalo, who is mentioned as a guest artist. Bachalo went on to several regular runs of the title, being an artist in issues #353-356 (March–June, 1998), #358 -360 (August–October, 1998), #362-363 (December, 1998-January, 1999), #365 (February, 1999), #464-468 (November, 2005-March, 2006), and finally #472 (July, 2006). | Recommended = | Links = }}